SchlichevsschlichtenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Schliche is a noun, schlichten is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Schliche” is a noun and “schlichten” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#43,470
“Schliche” frequency rank
#13,934
“schlichten” frequency rank
57404
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schliche schlichten
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Schlich zwischen streitenden Parteien vermitteln, einen Streit entschärfen

Where the eye mixes Schliche and schlichten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. Schliche runs 8 letters (CCCCVCCV) against schlichten's 10 (CCCCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
Schliche
10 ch
schlichten

Why the eye confuses Schliche with schlichten

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Schliche is [ˈʃlɪçə] while schlichten is [ˈʃlɪçtn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57404, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schliche is recorded at frequency rank #43,470, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃlɪçə]. schlichten is at rank #13,934, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃlɪçtn̩].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 57404, this pair ranks #902,692 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Schliche vs schlichten

Shared letters: cehils. Private to "Schliche": -. Private to "schlichten": nt.

"Schliche" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCCV  ·  "schlichten" · 10 letters · shape CCCCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schliche ← cshliche · scchliche · schhliche · schilche · schlcihe · schlicche · schliceh · schlichhe
  • schlichten ← cshlichten · scchlichten · schhlichten · schilchten · schlcihten · schlicchten · schlichetn · schlichhten

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Schliche" and "schlichten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Schliche" is a noun and "schlichten" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "Schliche" vs "schlichten" - which ranks higher?
"schlichten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,934 in our German list, against #43,470 for "Schliche". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Schliche" and "schlichten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Schliche" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "schlichten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #902,692 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schliche" and "schlichten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schliche vs schlucke". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #902,692 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list